This disenchantment with public institutions is not confined to Ireland. We need to recalibrate the relationship between the higher education sector, the government and the wider political system because the relationship goes to the heart of how, and by whom, the public interest in higher education is determined and how it is delivered on by the institutions and the public accountability systems. Higher education plays a vital role in the personal development of students, in creating and sustaining an open and democratic society and it is central to social and economic success. The latest, and only, time the issue has been formally and publicly debated was in the enactment of the Universities Act 1997 – the only legislation regulating the universities. * Tom Boland, former chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, and Ellen Hazelkorn, professor emeritus at DIT, are the founders of BH Associates, education consultants.

Source: The Irish Times December 12, 2017 00:00 UTC